Load bracing means



April 15, 1952 E. T. DOHERTY LOAD BRACING MEANS Filed Feb. 2e, 1948 figg EDN/WD 7.' of/EETY 2 I N V EN TOR.

GENT

Patented Apr. l5, 1952 LOAD BRACING IIIEANS- Edward T. Doherty, Chicago, Ill., assigner to Arthur F. OConnor, Chicago, Ill.

Application February 26, 19,48, Serial No. 11,220

8 Claims.

The invention relates to improvements in railway cars and like vehicles used for transporting various types of lading therein and is particularly well adapted for use in box or house-type cars. The invention is especially adaptable for use in box cars designed for shipping mixed freight or freight consisting of articles, cartons, automobile parts or parts of various forms, sizes or compositions which make it desirable to divide the car load into separate compartments or sections lengthwise of the car. It is also readily adaptable for use as means for supporting auxiliary `floors or platforms above the main floor of the car.

An important object is to provide improved load dividing and bracing means 'adapted to cushion the shock received by the lading due to the common longitudinal shifting of lading in freight cars, which shifting causes damage to the lading, resulting in the payment by the carriers of very large damage claims annually and resultant loss in earnings which has been a matter of grave importance to railroads for many years.

A further object is to provide improved means providing an auxiliary to the draft gear on all freight cars in cushioning horizontal shocks received by the car and lading; the draft gear being essentially the only device on the conventional freight car adapted for cushioning hori- Zontal blows received by the car and lading and being well known to fall far short of providing sufficient protection to lading.

A further object is to provide improved means for preventing the common and costly bulging out of the car end walls due to the longitudinal shifting of an undivided carload of lading, bodily, against the end Walls.

Another object is to provide improved means for forming separate compartments or divisions of the lading lengthwise of the car, wherein the bracing means for a given compartment will yieldably retard the movement of the lading in that particular compartment essentially independent of the movement of the lading in adjacent compartments.

A further object is to provide improved means whereby a transversely disposed bracing member may be anchored to the opposed walls of the car in ner adjustment to suit various sizes of lading than is possible in prior art devices wherein the wall anchoring means or sockets are spaced widely apart lengthwise of the car.

Another object is to provide improved means whereby the lading in more than one of the conventional components of a box car.

compartments lengthwise of the car, or all of them, may be cushioned simultaneously, if desired.

A further object is to provide improved means for preventing damage to side wall structures of freight cars due to the rigid, unyielding fastening of the opposed ends of the bracing members to the side wall structures.

Another object is to provide improved longitudinally yieldable bracing members economical to manufacture and readily applicable to the conventional box car, as well as to new cars, without requiring any essential changes in conventional box car construction; the device of the invention being readily placeable in parts of the side wall structures heretofore unused.

Further objects, advantages and capabilities of the invention will be apparent from the following description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. l is a fragmentary, vertical, transverse sectional view through the lower portion of a box car embodying the preferred form of the in vention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

In th drawings, I0 designates a car body comprising a center-sill I2, side-sills I4, a floor I6, side walls I8, side posts 20, inner wall lining 22 and outer wall sheathing 24; all of which are In the preferred form of the invention, the lining 22 comprises a substantially uninterrupted wall secured to the inner faces of aligned side posts 2l] and extending from the floor line to the roof of the car, although the major part of the lining 22 is not essential to the functioning of the invention. I show an inner lining board 23 traversing a plurality of the posts 20 adjacent the car floor and an upwardly spaced lining board 25, to form a horizontally disposed elongated opening 26 in the inner lining 22 adapted as a guide means hereinafter explained. An elongate mem- .'ber 28 is shown in longitudinal guided alignis of greater width than the width of the opening 26 and is formed along its opposed inner longitudinal margins with offset portions Sli adapted to overlap the lower edge of the board and the upper edge of the board 23.

Throughout the specification, the word inner is intended to indicate toward the car interior and vthe'word outer is intended to indicate toward `the'car exterior.

The portionV is of substantially the same width as the width of the opening 26 and of substantially the same thickness as the thickness of the boards 23 and 25 and may be formed lengthwise of its inner surface with agroove 35. The'opposed ends 36 of theportion 30 terminate adjacent the vertical centerline ofthe adjacent posts 2U and, in the preferred embodiment of the invention, the end 36 of one member 28 is spaced from the end 35 of the next aligned member 28, although I specifically contemplate one'.r embodiment wherein the adjoining ends-36 ,abut each other orare-integrated. An elongate metal plate 38 may be secured lengthwise of the -inner surface of the portion 30 and, as best shown in Fig. 3, is formed with a series of spacedrapart openingsr39.in theV plate. The openings Stare Shown in axial alignmentbut may be staggered, if a finer graduation is desired for securement of -a load-bracing member hereinafter described. A

rrubber block 40 is shown affixed to eachpost 20 coincident. each adjacent abutment portion ofthefends 33 ofthe members 28 and I propose the useof blocks 4] of :such dimensions that any movement `of an end-.33 toward the block will immediatelycompress the rubber. It will be `apparent that springs of` various types or friction shock-absorbing devices may be 'substitutedrfor the rubber blocks 40, which springs and devices at one of its ends with anoutwardly projectingV lugy and provided at its opposed end with a selectively propellable and retractable` lug 4B adapted to enter and interlock with the aligned V openings 39 'on-opposed sides ofthe can Theuse'ofrigid elongate load-bracing members is-oldin the art, as is the use-of steel-strapping-secured across the car, for bracing or partitioning one portion of a car load from another portion. While I have shown and prefer to use o a rigid load-bracing member, it will be understood that steel-strapping canbe used, in place of the'rigid member, without departing from the scope of my invention; the use ofsteel-strapping requiring only a change from the openings 39-to valternate fastening means adapted to accommo-Y date the tying ofthe ends of the strapping to the members 28. It is particularly pointed out that protection of the lading from damage caused bythe longitudinal shifting thereof against a rigid end: wall or against a rigid, non-yielding 'bracingmembeig of the .type shown in the art, v A is ,an .important objectof .my invention.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention,

Vas shown in .the drawings, it will be readily un- 1 derstood that the horizontal forces applied against the lading ina given compartment (by end-shocksv received by the car) willl be transmitted to the bracingmember or beam 44 which,

inturn, will transmit these forces to the cooperating members 28, to be cushioned or absorbed by compression of the blocks 40. The spacing shown in the drawings, between adjacent ends 3G of adjoining members 28 may be varied so that each separate member 28 mayV move a distance equal to the full compression of a given rubber block 40, without exerting any thrust against the next aligned member 23, or the spacing may be such as to cause one member 28 to contact the next aligned member 28 vwhereby the last mentioned two members will act simultaneously to cushion the blow. I contemplate the use of one continuous `member, comparable to the portion 30, traversing a plu-` rality of rside posts 20, with a plurality of projecting portions 32 affixed thereto, adapted to cushion or labsorb a given shock received by the I lading, by compressing a plurality of the rubber blocks 40 simultaneously.

While I have shown in the drawings a single row of aligned members 28, it will be apparent that yany additional number of such rowsmay bewused intermediate theV car floor and the car ceiling. Y My invention is not limited to the use of wooden parts or to a wood-constructed car, as

any of the wooden parts shown may be made of metal or other suitable material. Car.. lading, in the form of boxes orl bales, isindicated by the reference numeral 5D, in Figs. 1.and'2.

It willl be obvious to thoseskil-led inthe art thatvarioustypesgof abutments may be used vinstead of the endsVV 33 shown in the vvdrawings and it willsbeY obvious that 'therubber' blocks Y members;

all or their equivalent resilient members-mayY be backed KVup byk a fixed sidewall member other than the side postitland I contemplate such alternate structures.

I claim'. Y

l. In a`v railway car having. opposed sidewalls, each of said walls including upstandillgk post load bracing means comprising -a vmovable member mounted on each Opposed side wall adapted for movementin a horizontal plane parallel with said walls, fastening means formed on saidmovablemember, an abutment formed on said movable Vmember extending withinthe inner and outer bounding yplanes of said post members, -said abutment -beingmovable toward a iixed side wall member, said abutment and -said wall member each having 4a spaced apart opposed substantially vertical backing portion, re-

silient means disposed intermediate said .Y abutment and said wall member adapted to yieldably resist .the movement .of said abutment toward saidwall member, a load bracing-member disposed transversely of the car formed adjacent eachopposed side wallwith fastening means selectively engageable with `the adjacent rst named fastening means, said bracing member being adapted in response 4to Athe force of .lading shifting thereagainst tourgeY .the cooperating movabie member at` each opposed sidewall toward and adaptedY to compresssaid resilient means between anadjacent wall` membery and an adjacent' abutmentwhereby to cushion the force of the shifting lading with respect tothe car.

2. In a railway car having opposed side walls,

. each of said walls including side posts; load bracing means comprising horizontally disposed track Vmeans onieach opposed sidewall, a, movable member having longitudinal sliding relation with said track means, adapted for movement in a horizontal plane parallel to the planecf said walls, fastening means formedk on saidmovable member, an abutment formed on said movable member extending within the inner and outer bounding planes of f said posts, said abutment being movable toward a fixed side wall member, said abutment and said wall member each having a spaced apart opposed substantially vertical backing portion, resilient means disposed intermediate said abutment and said side wall member adapted to yieldably resist the movement of said abutment and its associated movable member toward said side wall member, a load bracing member disposed transversely of the car formed adjacent each opposed movable member with fastening means adapted for selective fixed relation with said first named fastening means, said bracing member being adapted in response to the force of lading shifting thereagainst to Aurge said movable member in a direction toward and adapted to compress said resilient means between said wall member and the adjacent abutment whereby to cushion the force of the shifting lading with respect to the car.

3. In a railway car having opposed side walls, each of said walls including side posts; load bracing means comprising a horizontally disposed elongate track member secured to and in coplanar alignment with each of said opposed walls, an elongate movable member slidably guided by and adapted for movement longitudinally of said track member, fastening means formed on said movable member, an abutment formed on said movable member extending within the inner and outer bounding planes of said posts and movable toward a fixed side wall member, said abutment and said wall member each having a spaced opposed substantially vertical backing portion, resilient means disposed intermediate the opposed backing portions of said abutment and said side wall member adapted to yieldably resist the movement of said abutment toward said side wall member, a load bracing member disposed transversely of the car formed adjacent each opposed side wall with fastening means adapted for fixed relation with said first named fastening means, said bracing member being adapted in response to the force of shifting lading thereagainst to urge the opposed cooperating movable members in a horizontal direction whereby to compress said resilient means between an adjacent abutment and fixed wall member and cushion the shock of the shifting lading with respect to the car.

4. In a railway car having opposed side walls, each of said walls including spaced side posts and an inner wall lining secured thereto; load bracing means comprising an elongate horizontally disposed interrupted portion formed in said lining, an elongate longitudinally movable member slidably disposed in said interrupted portion with opposed end portions thereof in overlapping relation with a pair of said posts, fastening means formed on said movable member, an abutment formed on said movable member extending within the inner and outer bounding planes of said posts movable toward a xed side wall member said abutment and said wall member each having a spaced apart opposed substantially vertical backing portion, resilient means disposed between said abutment and said wall member adapted to yieldably resist the movement of said abutment toward said wall member, a load bracing member disposed transversely of the car formed adjacent each side wall with fastening means adapted for interlocked relation with said rst named fastening means, said bracing member being adapted in response to the force of lading shifting thereagainst to urge the opposed cooperating movable members in a horizontal plane toward and adapted to compress said resilient means between an adjacent Wall member and the adjacent abutment, whereby to cushion the shock of the shifting lading with respect to the car.

5. In a railway car having opposed side walls, each of said walls including upstanding side posts; load bracing means comprising an elongate horizontally disposed track member on and in parallel relation to each opposed side wall, said track member traversing a plurality of aligned posts, a plurality of spaced elongate movable members longitudinally slidable on said track member, fastening means formed on said movable members, a plurality of said movable members each having an abutment extending Within the inner and outer bounding planes of the posts and movable toward a fixed side wall member,

`said abutment and said wall member each having a spaced apart opposed substantially vertical backing portion, resilient means disposed between the opposed backing portions of said abutment and a fixed side wall member adapted to yieldably resist the movement of said abutment toward said fixed member, the spacing between the adjacent ends of adjoining movable members being less than the maximum predetermined horizontal movement of either of said adjoining movable members adapted to cause one actuated movable member to engage and impart axial movement to the next adjacent forward movable member, a load bracing member extending transversely of the car formed adjacent opposed side walls with fastening means adapted for secured relation with said first named fastening means, said bracing member being adapted in response to the force of lading shifting thereagainst to urge the opposed cooperating movable members in a horizontal direction adapted to compress said resilient means between said abutment and said fixed side wall member whereby to cushion the shock of the shifting lading with respect to the car.

6. Load bracing means for a railway car comprising an elongate horizontally disposed track member mounted on and in parallel relation with each opposed side wall of the car, an elongate movable member having longitudinal slidable guided relation with said track member. a load bracing member extending transversely of the car between opposed track members, said bracing member being selectively movable to desired positions lengthwise of the car and being formed adjacent each opposed sidewall with fastening means adapted to interlock with cooperating fastening means on opposed movable members, an abutment formed on said movable member extending within the inner and outer bounding planes of an adjacent side wall, said abutment being spaced from and movable toward a fixed side wall member, said abutment and said wall member each having a spaced apart opposed substantially vertical backing portion, resilient means n disposed between the opposed backing portions of said abutment and said fixed member adapted to yieldably resist the movement of said abutment toward said fixed member, said bracing member being adapted in response to the force of lading shifting thereagainst to urge the opposed cooperating movable members longitudinally of the car whereby to move the abutments of said last named members toward and adapted to compress :said resilient means between adja- @.centrxed wall:members:and said abutments and cushion the-shock 'of -the shifting lading ywith "respect to thebar. e

7.--Ina`railway carhavingopposed side Walls;

` load bracingmeans comprising a movable memberen each of said-wallsadapted for movement in a horizontal plane parallelto said Walls, fasablev l member, 'aload .bracing member disposed `4transversely-ofthe car lformed at opposite ends `with fastening 4means adapted for vseeurementv to said rstfnamed-fastening means, said brac- 1ingi'memberbeing-adapted in response to the force of lading; shifting-thereagainst -to urge the opposed 'backingl portions of said` `ixed member fand-said: abutment into yieldably resisted .relation'with said resilient-means whereby to cushion said -force and protect the lading from damage Vordinarily-caused bythe shifting of lading against a solidly xed bracing member.

8. Ina' railway-car having opposed-longitudi- -nal side walls including post members; a movable member supported by and. adapted for movement in a horizontal plane parallel with each Yof said walls,V a fixed member oneaeh of said Walls, resilient means connectively' disposed between said movable member and said fixed 4memberf'adapted to yieldably resist the move- Y menti-in one vdirection of said movable member with respect Vto said xed'member, a bracing :member extending transversely ofY the `ear removably secured at each 'end portion thereof to anV adjacent 'movable member,l said bracing member being adapted to brace and yieldably resist v7thefmovementfofthey car lading longitudinally of the car.

VEDWARD T. DOHERTY.

.No Yreferences cited; 

